1. Field of Art
The present disclosure generally relates to the field of monitoring communications on a mobile telephonic device.
2. Background of the Invention
Police officers and other agents oftentimes conduct investigations during the course of their duties. In many cases, these investigations require an agent to work with a source for information, which is oftentimes an undercover agent or informant. Typically, the agent relies on the source to relay information pertinent to the investigation when possible. Oftentimes, the information gathered by the source involves telephonic communications the source cannot relay information about to the agent in real time or proximate to when the communication took place, such as when the source is working undercover. This delay presents difficulties to the agent who is in charge of conducting an efficient investigation or providing support to the source.
One option to perform some degree of monitoring of the source is to obtain a consensual wiretap on the source's phone through the source's cellular provider. The cellular provider records calls placed to and from the source's phone and passes the completed recordings to the agent. However, the cost of a consensual wiretap may run in excess of $6,000 per month, if it is even an option with the cellular provider at all. While cost prevents the utilization of wiretapping for all but high priority cases, even when a consensual wiretap is implemented with the cellular provider for the sources line the agent still does not receive information in real time. Further, when performing a consensual wiretap for a source's device in a foreign country, oftentimes the country's government must be provided with information about the source prior to establishing the wiretap, which may jeopardize the identity and safety of the undercover source. Additionally, the recorded data may not be received in real time, and thus, presents difficulties similar to the source relaying information directly.